Denver: Romero Theater Troupe marks 20 years of resistance, demands release of Jeanette Vizguerra

Denver, CO – On March 21, more than 150 people gathered at the Berkeley Community Church on Denver’s north side to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Romero Theater Troupe, a radical community theater group that elevates people’s history through plays, poetry and song.

Jim Walsh, a political science professor at CU Denver and founder of the Romero Theater Troupe described the ensemble, saying, “We’re an all-volunteer, organic, radical theater, and we do everything we do without a budget, without a director, and we use a consensus-based collaborative model that no one else has pulled off except for us – and tonight we’re celebrating 20 years of success in that.”

True to their principle of solidarity, the Romero Troupe used this opportunity to raise money for their fellow player Jeanette Vizguerra. Vizguerra, a community organizer and 13-year member of the Romero Troupe was recently kidnapped by ICE after finishing a shift at work at Target.

Vizguerra’s comrades in the Romero Troupe spoke about their memories of her, her tenacity in the struggle, and the community fight to see her freed from her unlawful detention at the GEO Detention Facility in Aurora.

Regarding Vizguerra’s detention, Walsh said, “She was targeted because she holds ICE accountable, and I think ICE has no idea the mistake they made, because they’ve just provided this country with someone to rally and galvanize around. A federal judge ruled today that ICE cannot deport Jeannette without a hearing. This is a huge victory for Jeannette.”

Walsh continued, “She’s likely to win that hearing and be able to remain here, and the entire immigrant rights movement looks to Jeannette for strength, so we’re going to raise money for her and her family tonight.”

Among the performers is Alexander Landau, a member of 13 years with the Troupe and a leader in police accountability activism in Denver ever since he was brutally beaten by Denver police in 2009.

Speaking on the recent developments in Vizguerra’s fight, Landau said , “I believe that it is a demonstration of what community looks like, and has the influence and power to do, especially in these instances where systemic racism has captured one of our sisters.” He continued, “Had this case fallen on deaf ears – had the community not spoken up – I believe she would be in a very different place right now.”

The evening featured several performances that retold episodes of the history of people’s struggle. Members of the Troupe re-enacted Landau’s brutalization and fight-back for justice. They honored the Auraria Encampment for Palestine with a performance of the Battle for Auraria of April 26th, 2024 -showing how the protesters united to drive off an army of police. Other performances featured individual accounts of immigration rights struggles by those who had survived them, and the story of the Flint sit down strike of 1936.

“This is the essence of what the Romero Troupe is. We are storytellers,” remarked Merrill “Arnie” Carter.

The evening ended in a folk sing-along featuring lively renditions of Saint Patrick’s Battalion, Union Maid, De Colores, and We Shall Not Be Moved, many of the songs sung in a mix of English and Spanish.

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